1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for depositing shipments by a deliverer into an electronic locker system having several lockable compartments, and relates to an electronic locker system for implementing the method for depositing shipments.
2. Related Technology
Electronic locker systems having several lockable compartments for depositing and picking up shipments are generally known. These shipments can be, for example, catalog products, food, or other shipments that are deposited by a deliverer into a compartment of the locker system for a specific recipient. In particular, locker systems are known for depositing and picking up shipments such as parcels and packages.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,796 B1 also discloses a storage device for depositing and picking up deliveries, whereby the device employed has a plurality of lockable compartments. A specific method of creating and checking a code is used in order to control access to the compartments. A free compartment can be assigned to the shipper or else he/she selects a free compartment.
WO 00/51750 A1 describes, for example, a locker system for receiving parcel shipments with a in which recipient data and parcel data are recorded in order to reserve an appropriate compartment in a system for a parcel that is to be delivered. At the time of the delivery, a control unit unlocks the reserved compartment. If it turns out, for instance, that the compartment is too small for the delivered shipment, then the control unit locks the originally reserved compartment and unlocks a compartment of the next size.
WO 01/52199 A2 discloses an electronic locker system with several compartments for receiving shipments. When a shipment is delivered, the deliverer is identified. After the identification has been verified, a control unit opens a reserved or free compartment of the appropriate size. After a shipment has been deposited, the compartment is closed automatically or manually.
WO 02/097605 A1 describes a locker system for receiving shipments, whereby the associated method calls for the identification of the deliverer. After the identification has been verified, a control unit opens up one single compartment lock or a group of compartment locks. Here, preferably several compartments are opened at the same time. FR 2 563 987, for example, describes a locker system that has at least one lockable compartment, input and display means as well as a connection to a remote computer. The publication discloses the basic principle of a method for the operation of lockable compartments in various embodiments.
With such types of locker systems, a deliverer typically identifies himself/herself at the locker system and uses an input means to select a mode for depositing shipments. Then the deliverer opens a first compartment, whereby the opening can also take place automatically, so that a door opens up. The deliverer places the first shipment into the compartment, whereby during this procedure, it is often the case that information in the form of Identcodes or other character strings associated with the shipments is recorded. After the compartment has been filled, the deliverer closes it and confirms the filling procedure, as a result of which the compartment is logged as having been filled. Then the deliverer opens the next compartment and the procedure is repeated with all of the individual steps.
When large numbers of shipments are deposited in several compartments of a system, the entire filling procedure is very time-consuming due to the various process steps required for each compartment. In addition to the negative time factor, this can also put a burden on the deliverer which, in turn, can lead to errors in the operation of the locker system. For example, parcels are placed incorrectly, parcels are forgotten or information is not correctly recorded. These drawbacks can occur not only with locker systems operated by postal service providers but also with any other kind of locker systems that are filled by deliverers.